


Cafe Diem

by saramcm



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2017-12-13 14:03:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saramcm/pseuds/saramcm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dear god, the name is cheesy, the pastel colors are nauseating and the aprons--! The aprons are sewn by the devil himself. But Sakura needs money and the girly cafe is the best thing she can get.</p><p>Rating is for later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sakura left her apartment and searched inside her purse for her pack of cigarettes. It was 3 months old, beat up and torn at the sides and... Empty. She threw it on the closest trash can and headed for a kiosk where she bought a new one and a paper. She then crossed the street and sat down on a street bench, lit up a cigarette, took a pen out of her purse and searched the ads. It was futile, she thought, there were no good job ads on the paper anymore. It was all on the internet. But her laptop had busted two days ago and she couldn't afford to fix it. 

Being 20 and not being in college was bad, but being 20, not going to college and not having a job either was worse. Especially since she  _wanted_  to be in college but had to money for it. Sakura's dream was to be a medic, but that was a stupid dream. There were many more important things in her life to deal with than the lack of a serious career. 

When she was 15 Sakura lost both her parents to a car accident that wasn't their fault at all. The winter road was slippery, there was another driver and he was drunk... She didn't like to think about it. Sakura remembered crying a lot in her parents' bed until she was forced to leave the house and go to a care home. She promised herself and her dead parents she wouldn't ever cry again. 

Her grades dropped. She couldn’t be bothered to make an effort, not when she didn't have anyone to be proud of her. Did Sakura regret it now? A little.  

People at the care home were everything but caring. Most of the kids were mean and the workers didn't mind them. The only two people who Sakura liked in there were her roommate Ino and two other guys, Naruto and Kiba. Ino and Kiba were both two years older than Sakura and Naruto, which meant the four of them only got to spend time together for a year before they were 18 and had to leave.  

Sakura remembered bickering with the three of them a lot, especially Naruto and Ino, but she also remembered how they stood up for her. Kiba taught her how to fight, which was mostly fun but also pretty useful. Ino was very feminine and taught Sakura all about make up and hair care and it was also useful and fun. She didn't cry when they left. 

For the next two years, Sakura and Naruto only had each other. He was her first kiss and Sakura still shuddered when she thought about it. Naruto was loud and childish, and Kiba taught him to fight as well but his punches were sloppy and he ended up getting hurt a lot from fighting at school. Sakura always bandaged him up and scolded him, and then one day they kissed and it was weird and they swore to never do it again. 

Unfortunately, after leaving the care home Sakura never really came in contact with either of the three. Social aid put her in a crappy apartment and the money she got was a joke, she jumped from job to job, mostly getting fired for her attitude. The last job she had, though, wasn't so bad. It wasn't perfect, it was a simple job at a stationary shop, but her boss was nice. The place went bankrupt, though, and it was a shame. Sakura had been jobless for almost two months. 

Her eyes fell on an ad that was just a little bit better than the others. It didn't require her to be topless, that was a plus. She circled it and read it again.  _Recruiting waiter/waitress for cafe in the center of Konoha. Salary according to experience._  It didn't say much, but it didn't seem too hard to do. She bit his lip and made the call. An interview was scheduled for the next day. 

 

She left her home half an hour before the interview and headed for the center of the village, near the primary school as a certain Kakashi something had told her over the phone. Sakura checked the time when she found the place, 'Café Diem', and decided she had time for a cigarette before going in. As she smoked she looked inside and gulped. "So fricking girly." Sakura grumbled when she saw the pastel colored towels on the round tables and the cupcakes on the show window.  

Her cigarette wasn't even halfway through when she threw it away and got inside, even if she was still early. A tall man was waitering to a table, bringing a tall glass cup with what looked like a cappuccino and a mint-green frosted cupcake with a chocolate cube stuck on the center of it to a brunette woman who was yelling on the phone. His hair was silver and he's face was almost completely covered by a strange shirt that came all the way to his nose and an eyepatch. "Huh. Weirdo." 

"May I help you?" The weirdo asked and Sakura cleared her throat, nodding her head. 

"I got a job interview." 

He looked around. The woman on the phone was the only one there, since it was a bad hour for business, but great for interviews. His only visible eye creased in what Sakura guessed was a smile and he pointed at a table. "Please do take a sit, Miss Haruno." 

Sakura sat down and watched the man. He took a moment before asking if she wanted something and she shook her head, so he nodded, went behind the counter and came back with a pen and a form. "Fill this out?" The eye crease was still there as he sat down with her. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, by the way. We spoke on the phone." 

"Oh." Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked him over once again. "You don't sound as weird as you look." She blurted out, shrugged her shoulders once and started filling out the form. It was pretty standard stuff and she was more than used to filling those out, she even knew her social security number by memory just by filling forms like those out. 

It was clear, during the interview, that this Kakashi person was maybe a bit weird after all. Sakura requested for a smoke break during the interview and he didn't look fazed at all. Not that he 'looked' anything, not when no one could see his damn face. She didn't smoke during her smoke break, just stared at the water fountain on the roundabout in front of the cafe. After five minutes she went back in to talk money. It wasn't so bad, Kakashi gave Sakura credit for her background with dealing with costumers but couldn't offer a great salary, seeing as she had no experience when it came to coffee that wasn't instant, much less any other drinks. 

"I'll call you." Kakashi said with his hidden smile as he stood and extended his arm for Sakura to shake his hand. "Tomorrow by the end of the day." 

Sakura nodded, standing and shaking her hand. "Alright. Thank you." 

She left the place shaking her head, wondering what the man hid behind a mask  _and_  an eyepatch. Sakura shrugged it off. Not like she was ever going to see him again after that interview. Who takes a smoke break in an interview? What was she even thinking?  _Oh, right,_  Sakura thought, _the pastel colors were making me sick._ Not to mention she called Kakashi weird right to his face. 

 

Sakura got a call the next day as she was making herself dinner, which consisted of pasta. That's it. Cooked pasta. Nothing else. Man, being poor sucked. She ran to her bedroom to pick her phone up from the mattress and answered with a confused "Hello?". 

"This is Hatake Kakashi. You got the job." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language and this has not been proof read. Please do point out any mistakes but be nice about it.  
> I am not good with introductions or conclusions. This has been a terrible first chapter and the last one will most likely be even worse.  
> Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come again?" Sakura asked, quite  perplexed  and practically choking on air.

"You got the job. Congratulations, I think." Kakashi sounded confused, she could hear the arched eyebrow, if that was even possible.

"Um. Okay." Sakura composed herself and cleared her throat. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow."

The call went dead and Sakura blinked at the cellphone. "Ugh. Fucking weirdo, can't believe I have to deal with him."

The pasta was overcooked when she got back to the kitchen.

The next day Sakura woke up earlier than it should be legal and headed straight for the shower. The water was enough to get aware to feel at least like she wasn't dying, but she knew it wouldn't last. In her underwear, Sakura headed to the kitchen and made the strongest coffee she remembered ever making, added double the sugar to tone down the bitterness and went to her room to get dressed. It was only after being ready in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a gray sweater that she went back to the kitchen for cereal.

Her hair wasn't agreeing with her that day, which was unacceptable. It was her first day at her job, for Christ's sake, couldn't it have given her a break? Apparently not. Sakura quickly tied it up in a messy bun  that actually worked quite nicely. A quick run to her room to get her boots and coat and she was running out the door, grabbing her bag on the way and putting a cigarette between her lips.

Now, Sakura wasn't a smoker. She found that cigarettes made her light headed when there was way too much on her mind and she needed a break, but a pack would never last less than a week. First day at a new job was always a good day for a smoke. She shook her lighter in her hand to get it to work and lit up the cigarette.

It was a cold day, although sunny, and there were a lot more people in the street than Sakura was used to. Probably because she avoided the hours of the day when she knew the streets were crowded, but that was pure common sense. She threw away the half smoked cigarette when it started making her nauseous and watched the sidewalk as she walked, quick steps, doing her best to not bump into anyone.

Sooner than she thought, Sakura was taking a turn to the right and seeing the waterfall in front of the cafe. She sighed, preparing herself for a full day of cute cupcakes and sweet smells and having to smile at costumers. The sign on the door read 'closed' but Sakura could see movement inside, so she just twisted the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. Kakashi was talking to this other girl who also appeared to be new, since he seemed to be explaining her how the coffee machine worked.

"Ah, Sakura. Good morning." Sakura didn't even notice Kakashi turning to her and was mildly startled by the sentence being directed to her. She cleared her throat and nodded. "This is Hinata. She'll be your coworker."

The girl was pretty, her eyes were big and light in color, her hair dark and with a hint of bluish purple. It was long and had bangs covering her forehead. Her smile was shy and so was the light blush on the apples of her cheeks, but then again it could be the cold. Sakura was blushing as well from the cold air, she was sure of that. She nodded again to acknowledge Hinata and got a smile in return.

"You two wait right here." Kakashi ran off to the back room and Sakura shrugged off her coat, watching as Hinata stared shyly at the ground. She was sort of adorable, Sakura thought, but her most outstanding feature had to be her breasts. Sakura swallowed and folded her coat before hugging it to her chest. If she was in anyway feeling self conscious it all went away when Kakashi came back holding one apron in each hand.

One of the aprons was purple. It had frilly white lace all around the edge, in the pocket in the center and on the ties. The other was exactly the same, but pink. He went and handed the purple one to Hinata and then stepped over to Sakura to give her the pink one. Sakura's eyebrows rose and she stared up at him for a stretched out moment.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"It matches your hair." Kakashi spoke way too cheerily and Sakura wondered if he was getting back at her for calling him weird.

"I hate you."

Sakura took a fake smoke break in the afternoon and hung the offensive apron by the door before she stepped outside. She hated the thing. Dealing with smiling at everyone was easy, the pastel colors she could get used to, but  _wearing_   the damn pastel colors was a whole new level of torture. She waited five minutes and went back inside, going straight to Kakashi when she saw there were not a lot of costumers.

"Listen. I need my salary now." Kakashi's visible eyebrow was raised - yes, the freak still had most of his face covered - and Sakura continued. "I mean it. I need to fix my laptop. I tried doing it myself but it only got worse and for a week I twitched every time I peed. I also got a fuckload of bills to pay."

He was thinking. Sakura didn't actually think Kakashi would even think about it, but he did. The man was seriously weird, but it was working out for her, so she couldn't complain.

"How do I know you won't just bail after I pay you?"

"Fair point." Sakura sighed.

"I'll pay you in four times. By the end of the week I'll pay you a quarter of your salary."

Sakura grinned and it hurt her cheeks. She didn't remember the last time she smiled so wide. "Thanks. I could kiss you right now. I won't, though."

It was the end of the afternoon, almost closing time, when a blonde woman wobbled through the door and took a seat on the closest chair. She was wearing an all purple pants suit and her long hair was up in a ponytail. Sakura stared at her for a long moment and right when Hinata was about to walk out from behind the counter to take her order, Sakura gently stopped her and offered to take this one.

She cleared her throat and took a change. This would either be great or get her fired. "Oi, pig. What do ya want?"

The blonde woman looked up from the notebook where she was doing some sort of math and looked up at Sakura with bright and wide blue eyes. Sakura grinned, all her suspicions confirmed. That was definitely Ino.

"Forehead?!" Ino laughed and stood from the chair to give Sakura a hug, despite how tired she looked. "Sit down, food can wait."

So Sakura did just that and sat across from Ino. She didn't remember when or why they had named each other such terrible nicknames, but she knew it was somewhere in the middle of one of their fights. The nicknames ended up sticking, but all in good heart.

Ino complained for a good while about her terrible job as a cosmetic saleswoman but couldn't let it pass without that she was the best at it. Sakura could see why, Ino looked wonderful, even better than back then. When she knocked on the door and yapped about the creams and make up she was carrying, the woman on the other side was just staring at her and wondering if any of those creams would make her skin as flawless as Ino's.

"By the way, wanna buy something? It would really help."

Sakura laughed at that and shook her head. "Sorry, Ino. I just started today at this job, I'm downright broke. Another time, maybe. And you could help by leaving a really,  _ really _  nice tip."

Ino rolled her eyes but ended up ordering a cup of mint tea and a chocolate chip muffin, which Sakura got for her. When Ino payed she told Sakura to keep the change and promised to be back soon so they could catch up. Sakura nodded with a big smile and watched her leave just as it was time to hang the apron and clean up.

 

When Sakura got home she sat at her kitchen table, munching on a piece of strawberry cake that she brought home from work since it would have gone to waste otherwise. A glass of cold milk, a quick brush of her teeth and then she was falling face first into her bed, asleep even before landing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, not proof read. Please be nice if you point out any mistakes.
> 
> I wasn't going to write this, since I got no feedback at all on the first chapter, but then I found myself getting ideas and had to write them. And since I wrote it, why not post it?
> 
> But I would really appreciate some comments if you're interested in this. I do know it's still too fresh and nothing is really happening yet, but I need to do some build up before good stuff happens.
> 
> Constructive criticism always welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

By the end of the week Sakura had enough money in her hand to pay for either the laptop fix or the electricity bill. Clearly, the laptop is useless without electricity so she made the wise choice and paid the bill, a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders at that. Then she went and bought some decent food for herself with the money she had left, fresh vegetables and fruit. She ate three apples in a row that night.

It was not until a couple of days later that Sakura saw Ino again. She came by the cafe on a  Wednesday  right on time for Sakura's lunch break, in a hurry to leave because lunch time is a good time for people to be home and, therefore, buy cosmetics. So, after telling Sakura that they were going out on Saturday night and that was an order, Ino left without looking back. Sakura watched her back as she half ran out of the cafe and blinked slowly as she wondered what the hell she got herself into.

By then, Sakura had realized just how shy Hinata really was. She found it to be endearing and offered to attend to the tables in the busiest hours, leaving Hinata to stay behind the counter fixing the orders. The girl was more than grateful for that and instead of splitting the tips in half, Hinata insisted Sakura took at least 65%. It's not like Sakura could afford to argue with that.

Friday was the day when she took the most fake smoke breaks, mostly because Kakashi was getting on her nerves. Prancing around the cafe, probably smiling under that ridiculous thing covering his face, asking the clients if the service was fine and not even thinking about helping. The nerve.

It was during the only smoke break that was actually a real one, when the sun was already threatening to set and it was getting cold enough that Sakura regretted not bringing her coat along, that a tall woman barged into the cafe muttering something under her breath. She was tall, her heels clicking angrily on the floor with each assertive step. Her hair was a dyed ash blond color, the darker roots showing just the tiniest bit, and it was tied in a neat, high ponytail. She was wearing a long red coat over her black pencil skirt and white blouse, her perfectly shaped eyebrows crinkled in a scowl. Because the cigarette was nothing but a stub anymore, Sakura threw it away and walked inside the cafe right after the woman.

There was only time for Sakura to see Kakashi roll his one visible eye before hurrying to the back room, the woman following after him. Hinata and Sakura shared a look of confusion for the brief moment of silence before the muffle sounds of an argument could be heard. Sakura stepped behind the counter and knew Hinata was trying just as hard as she was to focus on working and not listen to what was clearly none of their business. When working wasn't really doing it anymore, Sakura cleared her throat and turned to Hinata.

"So, remember that one friend of mine? The blonde one? We're going out for drinks tomorrow night, you're invited if you want to come."

Hinata smiled shyly and shook her head. "I would, but I'm spending the weekend away with family. You two have fun, though. I hope I get to go with you some day."

Sakura nodded with a bright smile. "Have fun on your weekend as well."

Before any more words could be exchanged, the woman from before stormed out the door, an exhausted looking Kakashi emerging from the back room soon after. He stepped over to Hinata and Sakura and let out a long, tired sigh, the hand that rubbed over his face in a tired gesture almost revealing an inch more of his face. Sakura found herself to be strangely disappointed that it didn't.

"You two can go ahead and go home, I'll close up." He spoke in a far off voice, his mind completely elsewhere.

"Nonsense, you're not gonna clean up alone after a day like this on your own." Sakura retorted. Not that he really deserved the help, after being useless all day long, but she took pity on his hunched shoulders and dejected sighs.

Hinata nodded along to Sakura's statement and apparently Kakashi was too tired to argue, so he just nodded and thanked them.

After the counter and show window were cleaned and the cups were all in place, a tall man with long hair tapped on the glass door. Sakura looked up to see him properly and squinted her eyes; he looked a lot like Hinata and she guessed they were family. Her suspicions were proved right as she excused herself and explained that it was her cousin. After going to the door and talking to him, Hinata came back inside and asked Kakashi if she could leave earlier, to which he nodded. Sakura smiled and waved at Hinata, both actions being mirrored by the other, and then started cleaning the tables.

"That was, uh. My ex-wife." Kakashi blurted out after while for no apparent reason. "I know you must be wondering what happened."

"I wasn't." Which really, was a lie. "Not really, anyway. Well, just a little."

Kakashi let out a tired chuckle and nodded. "We got divorced just before I opened the cafe. She's still trying to get half of the profit."

"But you said you opened it after the divorce?" Sakura frowned.

"I did. This was all my idea, my project. But in Haruka's mind she's still entitled to have half of this because we were married. It's... Complicated."

"It sounds complicated."

Kakashi sighed yet again as he wiped the last table before sitting down on a chair. "I don't know what happened. Or, well, I do. I just don't know _how_ it happened."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, broom in hand.

"We got married when Haruka was just getting out of college and I was working at a gas station. It all happened too fast and it took us seven years and a million attempts to have a baby to realize it was a mistake."

Sakura had left the broom and was then sitting across from Kakashi, intently listening to him. "You couldn't have a baby?"

Kakashi shook his head. "We did a bunch of tests, though. It wasn't me, it was her uterus. Either way, the baby was kind of-- A desperate way to save our marriage, since we were losing interest in each other. I'm glad we couldn't have it, it would have been just another mistake and made everything even harder."

Sakura sighed and nodded, it made sense. They would still be miserable if they had a child, trying to hold on to the marriage for the child's sake. It would probably end on divorce anyway, and it would hurt a lot more.

"The worst is," Kakashi continued "She was the one who started the fights, always finding a way to blame _me_ for not having a kid."

Sakura scoffed. "What a bitch." And just when she thought she had gone too far, Kakashi chuckled.

"Indeed. Wait here, I got your salary for the week in the back." He stood and Sakura nodded, standing too to keep on cleaning.

On Saturday morning, Sakura went to the electronics store to leave her laptop there and the payment for the fix. She went and put some credit on her phone so she could call Ino on the number she left her on the day she passed by the cafe at lunch. With all that done, Sakura went home and had lunch before spending the afternoon thinking of what the hell to wear that night.

She pondered on a hot pink top, but didn't know what to pair it with since her black jeans were on the wash. After rummaging around a little more she found a pair of thick, black tights and a jean shorts, which would look great with the pink top and the brown boots Sakura never wore because she didn't know what to pair them with (they looked horrible with jeans).

Dinner was only a sandwich, because Sakura knew she'd take forever to get ready. She got dressed and went to the bathroom, where she spent more than she would ever admit making herself look pretty. The eyeliner alone took about 15 minutes, because she kept getting it uneven.

A light blush and a tiny bit of her lipstick just to give her lips some color and the make up was done. Now, to figure out what the hell to do with the hair. After some thinking, Sakura just parted it to the side and let it be.

It was almost time for her to meet with Ino by the cafe, as they had agreed on earlier through the phone, so Sakura put on her black coat, grabbed her brown purse that matched the boots and left her apartment.

She got to the cafe at the same time as Ino and greeted her with a smile and a hug, since it was the first time since they had found each other again that they actually had time to be together and catch up. They headed for a bar that was way too crowded for Sakura's liking but hey, there was cheap booze.

They stayed by the counter, Ino telling Sakura about this woman at work who was completely owned by her husband and how that upset her - and then proceeded to ask for a double whiskey. Sakura just pointed at the colorful drink an older woman near them was having and asked for the same - while Sakura nodded her head, not really having time to voice her opinion in between Ino's complaints.

Sakura's drink was sweet, which she appreciated. Getting drunk was fun, and although she enjoyed the bitterness of coffee she would rather only feel the burn of alcohol once it wasn't on her tongue anymore. Her glass was half empty when she felt the need to take off her coat. It was about that time, too, that Ino changed the subject to something interesting.

"You'll never guess who I saw yesterday." The blonde's smile was bright, Sakura didn't know if it was from the alcohol.

"Well, then there's no point in me trying to guess. Who was it?"

"Naruto."

It took Sakura a moment to process that information. She blinked, her eyes widened, her mouth fell open and she let out a weird surprised sound mixed with a happy laugh. "Really? Did you talk to him?"

Ino nodded while she finished her drink and asked for another one. The same as Sakura's, this time. "Not for long, though, I was working. He wasn't alone."

Sakura's eyebrows raised as her curiosity rose. "Oh? You mean--"

"Mhm". Ino nodded again. "You should see his boyfriend. I swooned, I swear."

"Wait, Naruto's got a _boyfriend_?" Sakura's eyebrows knitted together before she laughed. "He was my first kiss and he's got a boyfriend."

"Well, look at that, forehead. You turned him gay." Ino smirked around the rim of her glass of sweet drink and Sakura shoved her shoulder. "How about you? Have you got someone?"

Sakura groaned and drank whatever was left on her glass in one go. "Do we have to go there?"

"Yes."

Sakura only groaned again and shook her head. "No. And I'm not looking for anyone anyway."

"Right, right. So, when was the last time you had sex?"   
"Oh, god."

"A month ago?"

"I don't wanna do this."

"Two months ago?"

"Ino..."

"Three months ago?"

"Six! Okay? Around six months ago."  Ino  didn't say anything to that and  Sakura  relaxed for a second, until she realized  Ino's  silence was worse than any words she could have said. She glanced over to see  Ino  staring, simply staring with a blank look on her face. "What?"

"No, nothing..."  Ino  looked away and sipped at her drink, looked at  Sakura  again, opened her mouth, closed it and drank some more. Finally, she spoke. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"I mean, why haven't you slept with anyone in six months?"

"What?"  Sakura  frowned, sighed, and asked for another drink. "I just... Haven't. There isn't anyone to sleep with."

Ino  snorted and put down her drink. "That is the lamest excuse ever. How can there not be anyone to sleep with?"

Sakura  sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't want to have this talk."

"You're gonna."

Sakura  groaned and took a large sip of her drink when it came before straightening up to start explaining herself. "This always happens. I meet someone, we start talking, hit it off, go on a few dates, have sex and after a few weeks having fun it's not interesting anymore. It's kinda suffocating. I used to let it slide, try to _light up the spark_."  Sakura  did air quotes and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"That's pathetic."  Ino  shook her head right back and drank some more. "You're twenty one! Enjoy the spark while it's there and when it's gone get another candle."

"That's the thing. If I was waiting for a spark I would still be a virgin. There just isn't a spark."  Sakura  shrugged. "I got tired of looking for it and got one or two one night stands, but it didn't really work for me."

Ino  stared at  Sakura  for a moment before sighing. "Still. Six months."

"Don't need a reminder."

"You need to get laid."

Sakura  groaned and shook her head. "I'm not getting laid just because I haven't done it in a while. I have self control, you know?"

"Let's make a list of hot people you know."

"Let's not."

But  Ino  was already rummaging around her purse for a pen and a paper. When that showed to be fruitless, she asked the bartender for a pen and a napkin and started  scriblling  down  _ Sakura's _ _list of potential mates_. "Alright, so what's your boss's name?"

Sakura  spat out the bit of sweet red drink that was in her mouth and coughed while sending the bartender and apologetic look for spitting all over his back. Still coughing, she turned to  Ino  and cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"

"What?"  Ino's  eyes were wide and confused, still trying to figure out the reason for  Sakura's  reaction.

"Are you kidding me? My _boss_?"

"Yeah, what about it? He's hot."

"He's _not_. I mean, I don't even know, the guy's a freak who doesn't show his face."

"Sure. But that adds to the mystery, which makes him three times hotter. Besides, from the neck down he looks quite attractive." As she talked,  Ino's  hand wrote  'Sakura's  boss' right at the top of the list while  Sakura  glared at the napkin.

"But he's gotta be like... Ten years older than me."

"So?"

"And he's divorced."

"So?"

"There's no spark."

"Oh, stop that fucking spark talk and get real. Sparks happen in books and chick flicks,  Sakura ."

Sakura  sighed.  Ino  was right, the  pinkette  had come to that same conclusion a long while ago, but that didn't mean she still didn't have a bit of hope that someone would come along and change her mind. She was looking at nowhere in particular when she saw a guy chatting up a woman whose face started miles under that make up, a cigarette dangling off his lips. She reached into her purse and took one out, light it up and took a long drag.

"I'm still not sleeping with my boss." Her words wrapped in smoke and her voice laced with tobacco and alcohol, and still sounding firm and assertive.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've been having loads of ideas but I need to build up to them. And it's been too hot to write.  
> So, it's pretty clear who Naruto's boyfriend is, I think. Sorry if you were expecting NaruHina, this was meant to be KibaHina from the start.  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated. I didn't proof read, so if you find mistakes please tell me (nicely).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And after roughly four months, she returns!  
> I really do want to apologize. I got the worst case ever of writers block, and some shit happened in my personal life that made things even worse. I just wasn't in the mental state to write, or even feel motivated to write. I started getting ideas for this again last week and realized how much I missed it, how much I wanted to keep this going, so here it is! I'll stop rambling now, on to the chapter!

Obviously, when Sakura went back to work on Monday she couldn't get Ino's words out of her head. Every time she looked at Kakashi she remembered that damned napkin that was supposed to be a list but ended up with only 'Sakura's boss' written on it, partially because they couldn't think of anyone else but mostly because after arguing over the pros an cons of sleeping with him - Sakura had yet to find out where Ino found so many pros - they were both a bit too tipsy to keep thinking about it, much less write anything down.

  
Somehow, though, when Sakura woke up on Sunday morning and tried to ignore her headache while doing the laundry she found the napkin scrunched up inside her jeans' pocket. She rolled her eyes and threw it away before laying on the couch and completely forgetting about the laundry.

  
Thankfully her hangover only lasted until the middle of Sunday's afternoon and on Monday Sakura woke up feeling a lot better. She didn't expect Ino's talk to have such an effect on her, though, and as she waitressed and wiped tables she wondered more than ever what the hell did that man hide under the mask. It was true what Ino said about him, weirdness aside he was a tall man who seemed to be well built under the dark clothes he liked to wear. That day it was a black sweatshirt and a dark blue pair of jeans. Sakura found it highly unfair that he didn't wear an apron.

  
To distract herself, the pinkette leaned against the counter when there wasn't a lot of movement and smiled at Hinata. "How was your weekend? Had fun?"

  
Hinata offered her usual shy smile and nodded. "I did. It had been a long time since I've been with my family like that. My cousin and I used to be a lot closer, so it was nice to spend a weekend with him again." Her smile was a little brighter but she blushed, thinking that maybe she shared too much information that Sakura was not at all interested in. Hinata covered it up by asking a question as well. "And how was your weekend? You said you'd be going out."

  
Sakura groaned and nodded. "I did. It was fun, but Ino can be really invasive. I'm sort of glad you didn't come, she'd probably scare you off."

  
Hinata chuckled quietly and shook her head. "She seemed nice."

  
"Oh, she is. She just doesn't have boundaries." Sakura smiled fondly, because in the end Ino still was to Sakura the best friend she was when they were at the care home, the same best friend who would crawl into Sakura's bed after a nightmare involving her abusive mother. She looked so young, then, and Sakura felt like it was her duty to take care of her on those nights. She didn't mind that duty at all.

  
Too soon the cafe was flooding with costumers and once again Kakashi was doing nothing worthy of being classified as help. At one time he was actually just straightening the 'open' sign at the door. Sakura scoffed; as if she would ever want to sleep with that man. Ino was insane.

  
During one of her smoke breaks, though, Sakura almost burned herself with the damn cancer stick. She jumped back when she dropped it so it wouldn't burn a whole on her jeans, then looked up again at the reason of her distraction. _Yum_. Now that was someone she wouldn't mind sleeping with. At /all/. Tall, dark hair, handsome face - not covering two thirds of it either, mind you - and downright dreamy. She even lit up a second cigarette for the sole purpose of having an excuse to stay outside, eye fucking the piece of heaven across the street.

  
Sakura's cheeks burned when he looked her way and she almost dropped the second cigarette, but quickly pulled herself together. Just as she managed to light it up and right after taking the first drag, foreign fingers closed around the stick and threw it at the ground.

  
"Hey, what the fu--" She started lashing out at whoever did such a rude thing, smoke blowing out of her mouth in each syllable and into the man's face. He clumsily swatted at it and Sakura's heart stopped.

"Sakura!" He whined. "What the hell! I can't believe you smoke now! These things are what's gonna ki--"

  
He never got to finish that sentence - thankfully - because Sakura practically tackled him in a hug. He was unmistakable, really. "I can't believe you still wear orange. How many times do I have to tell you that orange will _never_ be in style?" As she said it her voice almost broke. So she hugged him even tighter and pretended she didn't feel like crying. He only laughed and hugged back just as tightly.

  
"Naruto..." Another voice sounded and she felt her friend start pulling away from their embrace. Sakura allowed him to, grinning like an idiot and she let her arms fall to her sides. She looked over to the source of the voice and saw the handsome man from around the street, looking her down.

  
"Ah, right!" Naruto proceeded to take his hand and it suddenly clicked inside her head. "This is Sasuke."

  
Ino's words came back to her mind and Sakura nodded in agreement to them. He really was swooning material.

  
"Sakura." She lifted her hand in a wave-like gesture, the grin still tugging at her lips despite how disappointed she was that Sasuke was taken. And by Naruto, of all people. "It's nice to meet you."

  
"Hn." Was the only response she got and Sakura turned to Naruto again with an arched brow. He shook his head, looking sheepish and embarrassed and Sakura dropped it. After all, she was far too excited.

  
"What are you doing here?!"

  
"Ah! I saw Ino and she said you worked in this place... So I had to come and look for it."

  
Work. Right. "Shit! I've been outside for too long... Wanna come in and have something? The place is mostly empty at this hour, so I don't think my boss will mind it if we chat for a bit."

  
So they all walked inside and Naruto laughed way too loudly when she put her apron on, which earned him an elbow to the stomach and his boyfriend muttering that he had it coming. Sakura chuckled while turned away from them and then took their orders.

  
Sakura gave Naruto another weird look when Sasuke order just tea, claiming he didn't like sweets, and the raven haired man either didn't notice or ignored it. She shrugged and took Naruto's order; "One of them cupcakes with the rainbow sprinkle things" and tea.

  
They got to talking and Sakura learned that after he left the care home Naruto tried to find her but couldn't. He eventually got a less than crappy job in Suna and stayed there for a year, and after that he didn't really have a home, always jumping from one rented room to the other as he went on in his pursuit for a good job. He ended up working on the mini-market by the university, which was how he met Sasuke.

  
"He's in Marketing and Design, came in to buy a box of crackers." The blond explained with a smile that brightened the whole cafe and Sakura wanted to cry again.  
"Sakura." An overly sweet voice sounded behind her and Sakura turned to see her boss, a crinkle at the corner of his eye showing he was smiling.

  
"What."

  
"Hinata's working alone."

  
"You look like you're finished polishing the door sign, why don't you help her? I'm having a heartwarming reunion over here."

  
Kakashi looked over at the two sitting on the other side of the table, smile never leaving his covered face. Sakura made sure to bite back her laugh when she saw the look Naruto was giving him. "Very well. You have five more minutes, the place is about to get full."

  
Sakura blinked, never expecting such a positive reaction from her boss. The man _was_ insane, but hey, it seemed to be working out for her, so she nodded.

  
"We should be leaving, anyway." Sasuke spoke after Kakashi left, words directed at Naruto. "Your shift starts soon."

  
Naruto checked the time and whined, to which Sakura grinned. "We should go out this weekend. You have weekends off, don't you? Sasuke's older brother works Saturdays at the karaoke bar. We could invite Ino, too."

  
"Karaoke? Really?" Sakura's eyes shifted between the two of them and then she shrugged. "Sure. Oh, can I invite Hinata?" She pointed with her thumb to the girl who was preparing drinks behind the counter.

  
Naruto gave her another blinding grin and a nod. They exchanged phone numbers and when Sakura stood and turned after they left was met with the chest of a tall man right on her face. She yelped and looked up to see a masked face, immediately giving him a scowl.

  
"What are you doing?"

  
"I'm not invited?"

  
"What?"

  
"Why is Hinata invited to karaoke night and I'm not?"

  
Sakura scoffed. "Because Hinata is my friend and you're my boss." She walked around him and made her way to the counter, Kakashi's eyes following her every move with that smile of his still plastered on his face.

  
And she cursed herself for wanting more than ever to know what that smile looked like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm sorry. I don't feel like this chapter was even worth the wait. But the part with Naru was cute, right? Right? No? Okay.
> 
> NOW. THIS IS WHERE SHIT ACTUALLY STARTS TO HAPPEN. ON THE NEXT CHAPTER, THINGS ARE GONNA START HAPPENING AND IT WILL FINALLY START BEING INTERESTING. Hopefully.
> 
> I can't promise I'll start writing regularly from now on, though. I'm still not very stable mentally, I have nervous breakdowns way too often. But I'm starting therapy soon, so maybe that'll help with my creativity and motivation.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated. Encouraged, actually, and that does include constructive criticism. Just be nice about it and remember English is not my first language, so excuse any mistake (and point them out so I can fix it).


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura's week was nothing short of odd.

Hinata was quick to accept the invitation to the karaoke bar - although only after making sure that no one would make her sing. With that out of the way, Sakura called Ino and the blonde was more than eager for Saturday night to come. Once she started asking questions about Kakashi, Sakura hung up on her face and got back to work.

But, the odd thing was Kakashi himself. But when was he _not_ odd? No. To put it bluntly the odd thing was Sakura herself. She spent her time wondering about his mask, which was a thing she did from the start but not like this. No, she used to just be curious about _why_ he wore that thing. Now she was dying for an opportunity to see what was underneath, and it was a bit nerve wrecking, which meant her pack of cigarettes was gone by Wednesday.

Because, in true, Sakura was extremely annoyed at herself. Why? Because, considering the fact that she was so totally ready to jump Sasuke's bones before even learning his name, Ino was right; Sakura needed to get laid. And somehow, being aware of it made it worse. No-- Actually, what made it worse, was her determination to see what Kakashi actually looked like, because if it turned out that he was, indeed, attractive, well... Sakura was in for a huge argument between the logical part of her brain and the part that controlled her lady parts. And that was a position no one wanted to be in.

She left her house a bit earlier on Thursday to buy cigarettes on her way to work, immediately lighting one up because she wasn't up for dealing with her strange thoughts without a bit of nicotine to numb her brain. In the end she didn't even smoke half of it before throwing it into a puddle of water. It had rained the night before, Sakura hoped it wouldn't rain at closing time because she lost her umbrella and hadn't gotten around to buying a new one yet.

Sakura glared at Kakashi, tapping her fingers on the counter, while he spoke to one of the suppliers on the phone. Hinata asked her what was wrong and Sakura replied with a question; "Do you think if I throw water in his face he'll fire me?". Hinata didn't respond. Sakura didn't expect her to.

It didn't rain until she was already in bed, rereading The Fault in Our Stars for what felt like the millionth time and hoping no one died this time around.

Friday came with sunshine, birds chirping and dark circles around Sakura's eyes that made her look like a panda who just came out of Fight Club. With a groan, she rolled out of bed - literally, which didn't work very well for her because she ended on the floor - and took a cold shower, which did help her feel more awake. Coffee was extra strong, too, and then she ran to work because she took way too long to get up from the floor after her fall.

Kakashi looked at her weird when Sakura entered the shop heaving and discarding of her heavy coat. "Out of shape, are we?" He said with that eye crinkled of his and Sakura mumbled a 'cheeky bastard' before getting her apron. And a glass of water.

She noticed Kakashi seemed nervous that day, and soon enough the reason for his nerves walked in through the door, heels clicking. This time her hair was down, no roots showing, completely straight and looking beautiful even after being out in the wind. Sakura was jealous for a minute, but then-- Haruka, was that her name? Yes. Haruka and Kakashi went back to the storage room and Sakura sighed, leaning on the counter. "They used to be married, you know?" She whispered to Hinata, who gave her a wide eyed look.

"Really?" The other girl whispered back, staring intently at the door to the storage room. No one was yelling this time around and they both wondered what was going on. Sakura arched an eyebrow and somehow felt strange when she thought that maybe, just maybe, they could actually be working things out. That would explain his nervous stance all morning. "How do you know that?" Hinata's words cut through Sakura's thoughts and she was glad for it.

"He told me." She replied with a shrug. "Last week, after you left. It was just me and him, it was awkward and we started talking."

Hinata nodded and stared at the door again. "W-we should be working."

"We should."

But none of them moved to actually work, and then Hinata leaned in closer. "Do you think they're-- Y-you know. Doing-- Things?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she didn't know whether she was more shocked at the image now stuck in her mind or the fact that those words came from the shiest girl Sakura had ever met. She looked at Hinata and found her blushing madly, which triggered a giggle from Sakura and Hinata blushed even darker. "I don't know. Probably not. There would be noises."

Hinata's nose crinkled and she shook her head. "I hope they're not doing things."

"Me too." And she really did.

Haruka walked out again, looking just as beautiful and sharp as before, no messed up clothes, hair or make up, which was a good sign. Kakashi came out only after a while and sighed, his shoulders not looking as tense anymore. Sakura and Hinata exchanged a look, shrugged, and got back to work.

While cleaning up after closing time both girls talked about the next night, making arrangements as to where they should meet and at what time. Kakashi gave Sakura a look - honestly, how good was he at being expressive with only one eye showing? - and Sakura pointedly stuck out her tongue at him like the mature adult that she was.

And, once again being mature, she whined and stomped her foot on the floor when it started raining outside.

Hinata left after they cleaned up, and Sakura was glaring at the rain outside while waiting for Kakashi with her pay. She put on her coat when he emerged from the storage room with the envelope in hand, she put it in her purse and sighed as she glared at the weather outside once again.

"I take it that you don't like the rain."

Sakura shrugged. "I like it when I'm in my house under a thousand blankets, not when I need to go out into the street without an umbrella."

Kakashi arched his eyebrow while putting on his own coat and checking his pockets for the keys. "I could walk you home." The umbrella he was holding was black and didn't look all that big. Sakura shook her head, and saw him roll his eye. "Are you kidding me? You'd seriously rather walk under the heavy rain than having to walk alongside me?"

"I don't give my address to creepy dudes." She teased, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Plus, that umbrella of yours was definitely not made for two people."

"I'll hold you really close." Sakura could _hear_ the smirk in his voice, but before she could comment on it he continued. "I already have your address, anyway. It's on the form you filled out the day of the interview."

Sakura groaned but finally nodded. "Fine. But don't get funny with me."

"I would never dream of that. Or maybe I have already." The audible smirk again. Sakura wanted to growl, but bit the inside of her cheek instead.

"What did you ex wife want today?" She asked in a light tone while Kakashi was locking the door. He tensed up for only second, then shook his head.

"Nothing special. She called me in the morning, saying something about lawyers-- I don't know, it was way too early for me to actually understand her. I thought I was gonna have to pay for a lawyer to go against her and I was freaking out because-- Well, because I'm kinda broke. But then she came over, we talked to her lawyer on speakerphone and he basically humiliated her, saying there wasn't anything he could do." He sounded pleased. Sakura wanted to laugh.

"What the hell did she expect?!" Kakashi shrugged and turned to her, opening his umbrella and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Um. What are you doing?"

"My umbrella's too small."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but didn't argue any further.

Saturday night came with a dry cold that annoyed Sakura to no end, but at least it wasn't raining. She got ready early, wearing an over sized red sweater over leggings and a pair of black boots, along with a brown coat. This time around she took her time with her makeup, ending up with the tiniest bit of dark eyeshadow giving shape to her eyes and a glossy red lip. She wore her hair up that night, since she had enough of the wind blowing it all over her face, and since she was early she lit up a cigarette and walked slowly, earphones playing loud music on her ears as she waited for Ino and Hinata to show up.

The three girls then made their way to the karaoke bar and Sakura was still wondering if those were even still a thing. But there it was at the end of the street, muffles sounds of music coming from the inside. This could be fun, she supposed. At least she could make fun of the people who had the balls to go up there and make complete fools of themselves. Yes, fun.

Naruto waved as soon as they walked in, already seated on a booth with Sasuke at his side. Sakura gave him a little smile and the three girls joined them, Hinata keeping her eyes down seeing as Sakura was the only one in the group she was familiar with. Ino, of course, decided the cure for that was on the bottom of a glass of vodka and Hinata didn't have the time to argue before the blonde was calling the bartender.

In between ordering the drinks for the five of them, Ino leaned closer to Hinata and whispered something about adding the bartender to Sakura's list of potential mates and the pinkette exhaled loudly, pointedly ignoring her. Although, yes, he really wasn't bad looking at all.

"Sasuke? Won't you introduce me to your friends?" He said with a sweet smile that only seemed to annoy Sasuke.

"Tch. They're Naruto's friends."

Naruto beamed and proceeded to introduce the man as Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, and Sakura looked at him and then at his younger brother, thinking of how unfair it was that their family seemed to have stolen all the good genes for themselves. Itachi was taller than Naruto and his features were slightly different, but his eyes were the same color as his brother's and so was his hair, although Itachi's was longer. Sakura mindlessly smiled at him and he gave her a small smile back before leaving to fetch their drinks.

Conversation spiked up after the drinks came, Hinata gradually feeling less like an intruder and quietly laughing at Naruto's antics, covering it with her glass every time. Sakura reached around Ino to poke her shoulder and give her a smile. "You can laugh, he loves the attention." And, slowly, Hinata drank more and laughed more.

A girl who was much too wasted already climbed on stage and started singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Sakura cringed along with everyone else in the bar - it was fuller than Sakura would have thought - just as someone sat right beside her. She turned with a scowl on her face, ready to lash out at whoever the intruder was, but the words escaped her when she saw Kakashi. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Good evening, Sasuke." Was the only thing he said before turning to Sakura's surprised expression. "And to answer your question, I'm a friend of Itachi's. I even worked here for a while."

Sakura huffed at her bad luck and turned back to her drink. 

"Still, you weren't invited to sit here. That's rude." Kakashi only laughed and stretched his arms, one effectively falling on Sakura's shoulders. "Oi, there's no umbrella to excuse you today."

"I know."

Ignoring Ino's looks, Sakura focused on getting drunk enough to deal with Kakashi without punching him off the booth. She was on her third glass when she turned to him again. "Why are you not drinking?"

"Not thirsty."

"Then you should sing." Kakashi's eyebrow arched, so she continued. "You're at a karaoke bar. If you're not drinking you have to sing."

Kakashi laughed, but shook his head. "But I only sing when I'm drunk."

"Then you should drink."

"Not thirsty."

Sakura groaned. "You're no fun."

"I beg to differ."

"Yeah? Then, I _dare_ you to sing."

Kakashi stared at her for a long moment. At least, it felt like a long moment to her, but Sakura was starting to get tipsy, so she couldn't be exactly sure. "No."

"Please?"

"Only if you sing, too."

Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, no. No. Nope."

"Why not? You're drunk, you could sing." The amusement in his voice made Sakura smile. For whatever reason. She rarely tried to find a reason for her weird reactions when there was a drink in her hand.

"I don't live by the same rules as you do."

"Oh? What are the rules you live by?"

"Everything and everyone sucks."

"I'm offended. Any others?"

Sakura grinned. "It's not gay if it's in a threeway." That earned her a laugh from Kakashi and a weird feeling in her gut. Like she was actually enjoying talking to him. She considered putting out her drink, but decided to do the exact opposite and drink whatever was left on her glass in one go.

A few drinks later and it was decided it was time to go home. Sakura stumbled as she stood and giggled only to realize she was being held up by Kakashi himself. "I'll take you home. Okay?"

"You didn't even buy me dinner."

"Funny how you're a lot less grumpy when you drink."

"Shuddup."

He did take her home and this time when his arm was around her it was so she wouldn't trip and fall. The streets were quiet and Sakura wasn't sober enough to stop herself from singing the last song she heard at the bar, which happened to be American Idiot. "Oh, so _now_ you sing?"

Sakura laughed. "It's a good song." Kakashi nodded and she kept singing, until she forgot the lyrics and took a big pause. "I have a real rule."

"Oh?"

"Mhm. Well, it's a rule-slash-promise."

"Really?"

"Yep. I don't cry."

Kakashi frowned. "You don't cry."

"Nope. I haven't cried at tear since I was fifteen. I got all cried out when my parents died and it's my rule that I'll never cry again. It's been working so far."

Kakashi didn't speak and they were close enough to her place that he didn't feel the need to killl the silence for the last few steps. And, eventually, Sakura started singing again.

"Will you be alright?" He asked while she struggled to unlock the door. Why must locks be so tiny anyway? Sakura made a mental note to rebel against tiny locks.

 "Of course I won't. When am I ever?" The door opened, she stepped inside and closed it again without another word to Kakashi. He sighed, nodded at the door, and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was pumped about this chapter, which is why it was updated so quickly. Sorry if you were expecting something more ~interesting~ 
> 
> Is it too obvious that I have no idea what it's like to be drunk?
> 
> Feedback is appreciated. Really appreciated. Please?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -struts in 9 months late with Starbucks-  
> -laughs awkwardly-

Sakura woke up with a knock on the door, a huge headache and a vague recollection of last night's events. As she walked from the bedroom to the front door she took a look at herself; thankfully, she had been lucid enough to wash off her make up, but not enough to let down her hair which now looked like something had crawled it's way out of last night's updo and left a huge mess behind. Thinking it would be just her neighbor complaining once again about her late arrivals and the noise she made when she got home, Sakura figured it would be alright to open the door in her panties and baggy sweater.

It was terribly cold and not even her thick mismatched socks could keep the icy cold of the floor from her feet, but she would be damned if she was going all the way back to her bedroom only to grab a pair of sleepers. Maybe upon seeing the state Sakura was in her neighbor would leave faster.

But, when Sakura opened the door it wasn't her cranky neighbor with rolls in her hair that she saw. No, it was much worse.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Kakashi only smiled and held up a brown paper bag. "Hangover food."

Sakura rolled her eyes, which was about as painful as getting shot in the head, and then became extremely aware of how little she was wearing. "A warning would have been nice."

"As if I don't know that if I had called you you'd tell me to piss off."

"As if I don't know that it wouldn't stop you."

"Fair point." Kakashi simply walked right past her inside the apartment as if invited in and Sakura didn't bother to hide her groan. "So, this is where you live."

"Wait, how did you get inside the building? Who buzzed you in?"

"No one. A nice lady was going out and let me in. Brown hair, one of those tiny dogs that vibrate?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Her neighbor did manage to screw her over after all. "Yeah, okay, but I'm not wearing pants and you need to leave."

Kakashi ignored her and sat down on her couch, rummaging through the paper bag he had brought. "Where can I boil some water? I brought you some tea leaves that will help with the nausea."

" _You're_ giving me nausea."

"Good thing I brought the leaves."

Sakura was still at the door and only then did she remember to close it. "If I let you in the kitchen will you shut up for five minutes?" _  
_

"Yes. And I also got you some painkillers."

Sakura rubbed her eyes with one hand, the other pointing to the kitchen while she made her way back into her bedroom to put on some damn pants. She didn't bother with throwing some cold water at her face and also didn't bother with pulling out her hair tie and brush her hair. Hopefully her looks would scare Kakashi away and she'd be left to nurse her hangover alone, as God intended it. Or something to that effect.

Wearing a pair of pajama pants that were too short and had been badly sewn at the crotch after Sakura managed to somehow rip them last year, she returned to the living room and dropped herself on the couch, peering at Kakashi doing... Something in the kitchen, his back turned to her. A cup of hot tea was on the coffee table in front of her, sitting on a coaster. Not even Sakura knew where the coasters were.

"You've been snooping around my kitchen." Her voice sounded strained and her jaw hurt when she spoke. So did her head, but that didn't stop hurting when she didn't talk.

"I assumed you wouldn't want to drink straight from the kettle."

"You found my coasters."

She saw Kakashi shake his head. "Only that one. It was buried under the silverware, I thought it would be a good idea to use it. I don't think you're in a state to drink without dribbling."

"Stop judging me."

"I'm not."

He infuriated her. Everything about him. How pretentious does a person have to be to show up uninvited at fuck o'clock in the morning with _tea leaves_?? Sakura found herself scoffing and staring at the tea, then touched her fingers to the outside of the mug. Too hot, she would wait for a while longer.

"What are you doing?" She asked, finally, because Kakashi seemed rather busy on her kitchen and Sakura couldn't even think about standing up to check it out herself.

"You'll need to eat something eventually. Since I'm thinking you'll be feeling sick for a while, I thought I'd have the time to bake cookies."

Sakura scoffed again, the sound coming out odd as it was mixed with a groan at the mention of food. She felt her stomach turn and reach forward to grab the tea that was supposed to do miracles for her nausea. Might be worth burning her tongue for, if that was the case. She also grabbed the painkiller Kakashi had placed beside the mug, threw it in her mouth and took a large gulp of tea to wash down the pill. Bad move, not only did she feel the hot liquid burn all the way down her chest, it also tastes  _horrible._

"What the hell is this crap?!"

It was then that Kakashi half turned around to look at Sakura, finding her glaring daggers at the offensive tea. He turned back to his task and shrugged. "Don't question it, just drink it all the way to the end."

"How am I supposed not to question it when the taste makes me wanna gag more than my hangover does?"

"You're awfully chatty, can't be  _that_ hungover in the first place."

He managed to strike yet another nerve and Sakura wanted to throw the damn full mug at his back. It was a nice thought, but this was her favorite mug, so Sakura settled for a grumble and blew on her gross tea for it to cool down some more. Stupid Kakashi and his stupid tea.

His back was still turned to her and Sakura couldn't help but to observe him. There wasn't anywhere else to look at anyway, so she simply focused on the movements of his arms and shoulders. His shirt was light colored today and she found it odd, being so used to him in dark colors. The fabric over his face was still dark, though, and when Sakura looked closely she could see the outline of a darker undershirt. It all still didn't make sense, and her green, tired eyes followed his movements again as he leaned down to put the cookies in the oven. A sigh, and she took another sip of the tea, grimacing afterwards.

"I have chicken soup for lunch." Kakashi spoke while he left the kitchen, approaching the couch and finally sitting down next to Sakura. She shot him a glare to show she wasn't appreciative of it, and in return he smile, that infuriating crinkle in his eye making her want to throw the remaining tea at his face.

"I hope that doesn't mean you're sticking around till lunch time."

Kakashi chuckled. When Sakura remained looking at him as if she was figuring out how to kill a person with only her mind - and Kakashi was starting to believe if there was someone who could achieve such a feat it would have to be  _her_ \- he shrugged and looked off to the side as if inspecting her house better. "That is my intention."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're really weird?"

"Yes."

Sakura fell silent after that. What was she supposed to say to it? He responded with such a casual tone to her voice that she couldn't formulate a response that wasn't utterly pathetic like 'they're right'. So she continue to drink the tea until she was done with it, then put the mug on the coaster once again.

"You can sleep some more if you want to." Kakashi suddenly said, making her whip her head way too quickly - and painfully - just in time to see him dig something out of the paper bag he brought, which rested on the floor next to the couch. He took out a book with a clear warning on the back cover and Sakura was sure if she still had tea in her mouth she would have spat all over him. And the book. Did he seriously bring pornography to her house?

"I didn't think you'd be the kind to read  _50 Shades of Grey._ " She mumbled, her voice sounding a little distant while she stared at the book. Kakashi flipped it over and she saw a title that she'd never heard of before.

"I'm not." He said simply, and Sakura was still dumbly staring, even tilting her head to the side to inspect the object. "I'm almost finished with it. You can borrow it after I'm done."

A  _squeak_. Sakura actually let out a  _fucking squeak_. A part of her wanted to scoff and say'no, thanks. I read my porn online.' but Kakashi was her boss and she didn't think he needed to know about her indulgence in fanfiction. Another part of her wanted to laugh in his face and tell him she didn't need literature to satisfy her needs, but that sounded uncultured. And she also didn't want to mention her needs to him. "I'm pretty sure that's considered harassment somewhere in the world." That was a better response, though the fact that it made Kakashi laugh annoyed Sakura a little. He wasn't supposed to laugh, he was supposed to  _leave_.

"You wouldn't regret it. The author is really fantastic. It's probably not as gross as you're thinking it is."

" _As_ gross. That's you admitting that it is gross, just not as gross as I imagine."

"That depends on what you find gross."

"... This conversation is definitely getting out of control."

"Fine. Change the subject." Kakashi leisurely reached forward and placed the book on the coffee table. Sakura glared at it before she leaned her head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

"How about we don't talk? Even better, how about we don't talk in separate places?"

"I'm not done curing your hangover."

"I never asked for your help."

"I'm nice like that."

Sakura turned her head again, eyes narrowed as the glare was now directed at Kakashi himself and his only fucking visible eye. She wondered if he'd been like that before, if he'd always worn his face covered when he was married. She also wondered what his wife thought of it. Lifting her head off the couch, Sakura straightened and stared at Kakashi for a moment, watching his eyebrow arch in question. "Why d'you cover your face?" He shook his head in answer and suddenly Sakura was smirking. "You told me to change the subject."

She could practically see the gears turning in Kakashi's brain and saw him sighing when that smart mouth of his found no excuse to not answer her question. "Accident."

"Accident?"

"Accident."

"That tells me nothing." Frustration came again, and she found this to be a really bad time to be thinking that the tea actually worked and she was slowly starting to feel human again. "What happened in that accident that makes you cover your face at all times?"

"Not all times. I sleep naked."

"Kakashi." There was a determined, stubborn tone to her voice and Sakura ignored the fact that she just called her boss by his first name. Well, he was the one invading her space.

Another sigh happened and Kakashi took a pause, formulating his sentences before he spoke them, carefully measuring his words, it seemed. "I had a motorcycle accident. It was pretty ugly, my eyelid actually got cut by a scrap of metal so closing my eyes against the spray of gasoline was ineffective." He pulled his eye patch up and away and Sakura was suddenly holding in her breath. His eye was closed and she could clearly see the scar that started right above his brow and ended just below his cheek bone. When he blinked his eye open, Sakura found herself moving close, drawn in by the strange color in his eye, contrasting to the dark grey of his right iris. "It-- Uh. I can't see much from this eye. The retina isn't completely ruined, but all I can see is fuzz. It's a little bothersome, but I mostly wear the eye patch because I get sensitive to bright light. It starts burning."

Sakura was maybe a little disappointed when, after his explanation, Kakashi closed his eye again and put the patch back in place. She pursed her lips; the iris had lost some of its color and was now a strange maroon color, only some specks of dark grey remaining from the color it once was. Maybe it was because she had wanted to much to be a doctor, but she was oddly fascinated by the aftermath that accident left in his eye. She pulled herself from those thoughts; it wasn't like she was going to ask him to show her again, especially after Kakashi just stated that it burns when his eye is open for too long. Instead, she pointed in the general direction for the lower part of his face. "And the rest?"

The oven timer went off. Kakashi's eye crinkle returned and because she was so focused on the mas over his face, Sakura could actually see the outline of his lips turning upwards. He stood without a word and moved to the kitchen, leaving a very annoyed Sakura behind.

"Coffee with your cookies?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. So. I have no excuse.
> 
> My relationship with this fandom is... Fickle. Sometimes I'm /really/ into Naruto and other times I go for months and months without reading it. When I'm not in touch with a fandom, I'm not in touch with the characters. When I'm not in touch with the characters, I find it hard to write fanfiction.  
> I just caught up on Naruto earlier and I had written half of this chapter before I disappeared. I suddenly felt like I needed to give Sakura some love, especially after all those frames in some of the latest chapters where Kakashi and Sakura are so close omg. Did you see that? Jesus. My shipper heart can't take it.  
> Also, um. Sorry of the crappy eye story.
> 
> BUT YAY. RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT. Kinda.
> 
> As usual, feedback is appreciated. It keeps me motivated to continue this.  
> If you find any mistakes (and I know I did when I reread the past chapters but I was too lazy to fix them) please tell me. As I said on previous chapters, my first language is not English and this has not been proof read.
> 
> *SEMI SPOILER ALERT*  
> In the light of the latest chapters, I sort of wanted to change my original - rather crappy - idea of what to make of Kakashi's eye. I literally had no idea what to make of it, since I'm like, 99% sure he will stop wearing his hitai-ate over his eye and it's already been established in this story that he has the eye patch. So, instead of thinking further about it and messing it up even more, I kept with my original thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

She did want coffee with her cookies and grunted while she gave a resigned nod to answer Kakashi's question. Sakura hated him, she decided when he smiled at her like he had won some sort of battle with her. Which, all things considered, he sort of did.

Sakura could still win the war.

"Join me."

"Pardon?"

"For breakfast." She clarified, sounding and looking uninterested while she bent over to pick up the remote from the coffee table, turning on the TV and quickly being reminded by the black screen that she hadn't had a chance to pay the cable bill yet. Dammit. "You came all the way here with tea leaves and all. Now you made cookies. I'm telling you to enjoy them with me."

"That's the least creative excuse I would have expected you to use to see my face."

"That's really conceited of you."

"Are you denying it?"

Sakura was silent for a moment because no, she wasn't denying it. There was no point to it, since she had just inquired Kakashi about it, so she was simply silent, watching him as he turned around and figured out her coffee machine, not being able to see if he had picked up one or two mugs from the cupboard. "What's so horrible about your face that you cover it all the time? Or is it actually your breath?"

"I regret giving you the tea and painkiller. I like you much better when you don't speak."

"My goal isn't to please you, so."

"Oh, I do know that." Sakura heard the smile when he spoke, even though Kakashi still had his back to her. She didn't know what to make of it, and didn't really had the time to think because then he was speaking again. She didn't think he was smiling anymore. "There are only a few scars. I wear the mask to avoid questions about them, so if you would please let it go..."

"You do realize wearing a mask at all times raises more questions than a couple of scars ever would, right?" Sakura spoke before she really thought it through, but didn't apologize once she did. She thought she might have angered him this time, but she was extremely wrong.

"Not everyone is as bold as you are." The smile in his voice was back; Sakura was oddly glad for it.

"Just because people are not asking the questions, doesn't mean they're not thinking them."

"Of course. But what I don't hear doesn't affect me, I like it that way. And I think people have more reservations asking questions about the mask. Scars mean accident, mask could mean gross, infectious disease or that I'm a lunatic."

"No one's arguing that you're a lunatic."

"You're truly charming, Sakura." He spoke as he turned, holding a tray with a plate of cookies and two mugs filled with black coffee. Sakura saw the amusement in his one eye and it made her want to choke him. But Kakashi had, apparently, decided to actually join her for breakfast, so she decided to let him live. For now.

"I still don't buy it, though." She murmured, suspicious, eyes on the tray as Kakashi walked closer and put it down on the center of the coffee table. The scent of cookies had been lingering in the air since shortly after the were put in the over, but now she could really smell the cinnamon in them and it made her mouth water.

"Well," Kakashi sat back down next to her and shrugged his shoulders, paying Sakura no attention as he reached over and grabbed a cookie for himself. His other hand reached up and Sakura's eyes followed it, followed the movement of his index finger as it hooked under the dark fabric of that stupid mask and pulled it down below his chin. "You believe whatever you want."

Whether or not the scars were, in fact, the reason why Kakashi hid behind a mask was still a question in Sakura's mind, but the fact was that they existed. She couldn't see it very well, seeing as Kakashi was still facing forward, but there was unmistakably a mark that ran down from his lower lip to his chin. It made Sakura wince, even if she had tried so hard not to react to it, but she could only imagine the pain that had accompanied the acquirement of such a scar. The quiet sound made Kakashi tun fully towards her and a sheepish, apologetic look crossed her features for a split second. Then her attention was on the mark again, analyzing it to the short extent of her knowledge on the matter. 

It was placed somewhere between the center and the right corner of his mouth, and it must have been a deep wound. It definitely happened a long time ago and was fully healed, no redness left around it, only the white scar tissue and the dented skin. The line was thicker on its lower half, nearer to his chin, and when Sakura looked closely enough she could see it extended to Kakashi's upper lip, too. It was thin there, thinner than the line on his lower lip, and it made Sakura think of him gritting his teeth in pain with his lips parted at the moment they suffered the deep cut.

"Are those from the accident, too?" She asked, her eyes moving to the left side of his face. She saw a less prominent scar on his jaw, in line with the one over his eye. Kakashi nodded and Sakura didn't look away. Not yet.

"It was pretty bad." He continued to explain. "I have a few more scars below the neck that I'm not gonna show you." Kakashi smirked, and Sakura was a little taken a back when she saw the curve of his lips without the mask to hide it. She swallowed dryly. "And I also broke a leg."

"Do you still ride a motorcycle?"

"No." Kakashi paused, a slight frown pinching his eyebrows together. "But not because of the accident. It happened when I was still in college, I-- Lost my my motorcycle in the divorce. Something about value settlement. Haruka ended up selling it shortly after and I don't really have the monetary stability right now to get a new one. I miss it."

Sakura found that last, short statement a little strange. She found it hard to understand how someone missed something after literally listing all the harm that same thing had done to them. But then again, Kakashi had never been  _normal,_ and she was more convinced than before that he really was a bit of a lunatic.

She also still couldn't understand it. Yes, the scars existed, but were they really worth wearing a mask at all times? The scars on the lower half of Kakashi's face weren't particularly off putting, much less gruesome. The one that crossed his lip was the deepest one and it wasn't even all  _that_ deep. Or ugly. In her honest opinion - that she would never vocalize - the marks didn't seem to justify wearing a ridiculous mask to cover them.

_They don't make him any less handsome._

The sudden thought made her finally tore her eyes away from his face and distract herself with something else, which happened to be the coffee Kakashi had brought for her. She picked up the mug that was closer to her on the tray and took a sip from it, letting it rest on her tongue for a moment and focusing on the taste more than anything else. Strong, two sugars. Kakashi must have noticed her preferences on one of the many times he caught her using the coffee machine at work for personal purposes. 

Sakura heard Kakashi take in a breath and thought he was preparing to say something, but didn't find out what it was because a muffled beep interrupted him. Her phone sounded from somewhere between the cushions, making the couch vibrate softly with it, and Sakura had to wonder just how wasted she was last night that she didn't remember throwing the damn thing on the couch when she got home. She stood and lifted one of the cushions, finding the device with the notification light blinking before Kakashi could stand too. After patting the cushion down and sitting again, Sakura unlocked the screen and read the text from Ino, asking her how she was doing and what happened after Kakashi took her home. Sakura stared at the phone with a blank expression, arched an eyebrow after she read the text twice, locked the screen again and promptly shoved it between the cushions again. She was nonchalantly reaching for a cookie when she felt Kakashi's eyes on her.

Her eyes flicked off to the side again to regard him. He didn't look away at that, and held her gaze until she was the one forced to look away, a bit overwhelmed by the soft smile that she wouldn't have noticed had Kakashi been wearing his mask.  _Stupid mask. Stupid boss._  Sakura bit on the cookie slowly, taking in a breath and reminding herself that moaning at the taste would be too much of a stroke to his ego while at the same time wondering if it was possible to achieve sexual pleasure just from eating food. Her mind was swerving to odd places, so Sakura forced herself back to reality. She could still feel his eyes on her. "What?"

He only smiled wider, the idiot. Sakura chewed a little faster and pointedly avoided looking at him. "You're a weird one."

"You're one to talk." Her response was practically automatic. She didn't think that was such a bad thing.

There was silence again and Sakura was somewhat glad for it. She thought it was easier, maybe, to be silent and tolerate his presence. With that in mind, she reached for her coffee again and drank calmly, appreciating the taste and almost forgetting that she had company in the first place.

"Last night you said you were never fine."

Of course, Kakashi had to go and ruin it.

Sakura shrugged. What could she say to that? "I don't even  _remember_ saying it, I don't think you should be paying any mind to what I said last night."

"You also said you never cry."

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

Her voice had taken on a bitter edge. She was suddenly angry, angrier than she had been when Kakashi showed up at her door earlier. Angrier than she'd been until then. Her fingers curled tightly around her mug of coffee and Sakura stared down at the remaining black liquid, lines of frustration on her forehead. 

"It's only fair." Kakashi broke the silence, and Sakura's fingers twitched. "I told you things. Now it's your turn."

"We never made that agreement and we're not children playing games. You told me things because you wanted to."

"Because you asked."

"You were free to not answer them. Same way as I'm not answering now."

"Funny, just a second ago you were saying they were just drunken ramblings. Now you're admitting there's something _to_ answer."

Sakura couldn't see how he could find that  _funny_ and she made sure Kakashi knew it, finally lifting her eyes to look at him again. Instead if the interested observation he had received when she was looking at his scars, he received a harsh glare, her eyes green and glimmering with something unpleasant. "I said I'm not playing games."

Kakashi conceded, at last, and gave her a curt nod before he leaned back on the couch. After a quick look around, he lifted his mask over his nose and nodded again, this time to himself. "It appears I've overstayed my welcome. I'll show myself out now."

"You were never welcome in the first place." Harsh, maybe. But it wasn't like Sakura was hiding that fact from him.

He smiled, and once again she could only see it in the way his eye creased. "I'll leave you the rest of the tea leaves, it would be good if you would remember to drink another cup of tea before bed. The chicken soup I brought is in a container by the microwave."

Sakura loathed him. She despised the man with every fiber of her being right then, even more after he picked up the paper bag with his ridiculous book inside and gave her a cheery wave, told her he'd see her tomorrow, and didn't stop smiling until he turned away from her. She didn't move an inch, not until she heard the door click shut after Kakashi left, and after that all she did was put down the coffee she was holding and drop her body sideways on the couch.

Her phone beeped again. She ignored it.

The couch smelled like aftershave.

She glared at the cookies on the coffee table. They suddenly tasted bitter in her memory.

She fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, I suppose, the second half of the previous chapter. Hence why it was so easy to type, I left many things left to say on the previous one and most of this was thought out already.  
> I'm catching on to the feel of the characters again. Especially Sakura, since this is written on her POV. As I get more Sakura vibes, the chapters promise to start getting better. Or, it gets harder and harder to control her, as we can see by her finally snapping at Kakashi. Well, then.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated. Thank you for anyone who's been reading this and leaving kudos, too. You're all in my kokoro <3
> 
> Sidenote: I got a new laptop and I'm still getting used to the keyboard. Please inform me of any typos I may have missed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your eyes do not deceive you. I updated this. Don't expect much lmao

Sakura woke up hours later. The cookies were still on the coffee table, as were the empty mugs, and the soup was still by the microwave. Ah, so that hadn’t been some sort of bizarre dream. She stretched and sat up, trying to rub the cold away from her arms and legs and finding it useless. Eventually Sakura stood and glared at the container with the chicken soup for almost a full minute. Then her stomach growled and she gave in.

While the soup was heating up, Sakura went to the bedroom to grab a fuzzy warm robe, then returned to the couch to find her phone again. Five missed calls and twelve texts from Ino in total. Sighing, Sakura quickly typed a response and told Ino she spent most of the day sleeping. It was on purpose that she ignored the texts asking about Kakashi; best to keep Ino out of the loop on the whole cookies-and-gross-tea thing.

The soup was alright, though definitely not enough to satisfy her after how little she had eaten the entire day. Seeing as she was doing much better, Sakura made herself some grilled cheese and then had a cookie for dessert – might as well, she wasn’t one to waste food. After cleaning up all the dirty dishes and putting the rest of the cookies away, Sakura opened her window and grabbed a smoke. Her phone beeped with a text message from a number she had yet to save.

‘Don’t forget to have another cup of tea. -K’

Sakura threw away the last of her cigarette, suddenly feeling sick. She did, however, brew herself another cup of disgusting leaf water (not because of the reminder, but because it did seem to work wonders before).

Monday was… Awkward. Sakura gave Kakashi back his washed container and pretty much attempted to ignore him the entire day. Hinata seemed worried but Sakura assured her nothing was wrong. They chatted about Saturday night and it lifted Sakura’s spirits again. Thankfully Hinata seemed to catch the drift that Kakashi was not Sakura’s favorite person at the moment and kept the subject on anything _but_ him. She’d be forever thankful for that.

The days went by in pretty much the same way. Slowly Sakura began feeling less stung by Kakashi’s curiosity and started delving more into her own, though. She’d seen Kakashi’s face, after all, and that was something she couldn’t exactly ignore – no matter how pissed she was at him. However, she was grateful for her anger. That helped her not dwell on the fact that Ino was right and the man was quite attractive.

Thursday was the first day after the weekend Sakura had some sort of conversation with Kakashi. And to be honest, she was not looking forward to it. Despite her brash nature, Sakura herself could tell that she was crossing the line (or had done so a while ago), but here she was.

“Can I leave early today?”

“Come again?” Kakashi spoke without even lifting his eyes off the paper. Hinata, bless her heart, was cleaning the cappuccino machine and pretending not to listen.

“My laptop’s fixed, I need to go get it.” Silence. Sakura watched with annoyance as Kakashi turned the page. “I’ll stay late tomorrow to clean up. Or I’ll come in early to set everything up.” More silence. Sakura sighed, exasperated. “Please?”

Kakashi’s eye crinkled. _Oh, the bastard._

“I would have allowed it if only you had asked nicely in the first place, but since you offered… Be here half an hour early tomorrow.”

Sakura turned her back without saying thank you. She hung her apron and grabbed her coat, but Kakashi’s voice stopped her.

“You said _early_ , you didn’t say _now_.”

“And don’t you love picking at what I say,” Sakura countered with defiance.  The wind blew aggressively at her hair once she was outside. If pink locks hadn’t obscured her vision, she would have seen the glimmer in Kakashi’s eye that Sakura had learned meant a smirk was hidden beneath the mask.

 

The next morning Sakura arrived even before Kakashi did. It was unbearably cold and she didn’t have a damn key, so she lit up a cigarette while she waited (despite the fact that her hand was freezing outside her pocket). Of course Kakashi arrived mere seconds later, more cheerful than anyone should be when it was this early and this cold, but Sakura would not throw away the cigarette.

“Those are bad for you.”

“Lots of things are bad for me, including ‘smoking kills’ speeches this early in the morning.”

Kakashi huffed out a chuckle and opened the door after unlocking it. “You need that hand of yours to serve clients. Don’t get frostbite.”

Sakura totally mocked him once he was inside, like the mature adult she was.

 

“Start with the chairs,” Kakashi said as soon as Sakura walked inside, which had her squinting her eyes in his direction. He seemed to be too busy fumbling with the register to notice. She hung her coat and scarf and started taking the chairs off their upside down position on the tables and putting them in their rightful place. That was quickly done and Sakura turned on the coffee machine before she started setting the towels. Kakashi glanced at her when she did it, but she ignored it.

“Want coffee?” Sakura finally asked, moving back to the coffee machine once she was done with the towels. Kakashi seemed to take a second to answer.

“Wait, are you being nice to me?”

“ _No_ ,” she rectified. “I’m making coffee.”

“Alright. I’ll have some, black.”

Sakura had expecting him to say no. She supposed she had broken some sort of barrier the first time she saw his face. Silently, she prepared both coffees and placed his cup in front of him. Her eyes fell to her own cup as she blew the steam away, seeing it in Kakashi’s peripheral vision that he was lowering his mask. Sakura didn’t look up. She wouldn’t look at him and she wouldn’t ask question. Then he wouldn’t either.

“How are you doing? Financially, that is,” Kakashi asked, breaking the silence that had settled. When Sakura looked up she avoided fixating on the scars.

“Alright. I have everything pretty much settled already and can resume my life as a normal human being.”

“Good to hear.”

“… Thanks.” Sakura muttered into her cup.

“Now you’re _definitely_ being nice to me.”

“Then shut up and appreciate it, dammit.” She huffed, gathering her thoughts before reluctantly continuing. “Not everyone would do what you did. You have no idea how much it helped.”

“I do,” He argued, and Sakura was silent. “That’s why I did it.”

“Well. Thanks again.”

“I could get used to you being nice to me.”

“Don’t. Not gonna happen.”

“I know.” Kakashi finished his coffee and covered his face again before Sakura could even know what was going on. He then moved away from behind the counter to put the napkin dispensers and the centerpieces on the tables. Sakura froze up for a moment, her forehead displaying a frown. She finished her own coffee and quickly washed both cups. When Hinata arrived at the coffee shop, Sakura put her apron on. The day was about to begin.

Fridays were always somewhat chaotic. Sakura checked her phone during her lunch break and saw a text from Ino inviting her to do something that night. Did that girl ever stop? Sakura replied that she wasn’t up for it because she started work earlier, and Ino promptly pushed it to Saturday.

‘I dunno. I paid all the bills and now I’m pretty much broke. -S’

‘Well then that’s perfect! Lady’s night is tomorrow night in this club I know. Come on, you seriously need it. -I’

‘I seriously don’t. Do you ever make plans with people that don’t involve alcohol? -S’

‘We could always have dinner at your place beforehand. -I’

‘Hey! I never offered my place! -S’

‘I’m having plumbing problems. -I’

‘No, you’re not. You wanna snoop. -S’

‘I WOULD NEVER! -I’

Sakura caved in and sent Ino her address, anyway. After all, there was too much lost time to make up for. She decided on a smoke break after lunch, and on her way out of the backroom caught Hinata behind the counter with her phone to her ear, speaking timidly with whoever was on the other side. She hung up and Sakura sneaked up behind her with a mischievous smirk.

“Who was that?”

Hinata jumped, red as a tomato, clutching her phone to her chest. “N-No one!”

“That wasn’t very convincing, you know?” Sakura arched an eyebrow. Hinata couldn’t seem to get her words out and looked like she was about to explode. Sakura chuckled. “Oh, come on! I’m offended that you won’t tell me!”

“Don’t listen to her, Hinata. She’ll suck your secrets out of you and give you nothing in return. It’s like she’s a demon, feeding on your soul,” Kakashi jumped in and Sakura rolled her eyes. Hinata, however, could swear she was developing an aneurism.

“Did no one ever teach you that it’s rude to listen to other people’s conversations?”

“You’re one to talk about rude.”

Sakura ignored him. He went to the backroom, anyway. Probably escaping, the coward. The pinkette turned her attention to Hinata again and flashed her a grin. “Alright, you’re off the hook. _For now_.” She went outside for a smoke and could hear the sigh of relief behind her.

 

Sakura opted not to talk to Hinata about inviting her out during the day. She’d text or call later; better that than having Kakashi trying to invite himself to her home yet again. The afternoon went by smoothly, oddly enough. By the time the sun was down and they were getting ready to close, Sakura was about ready to fall face first into her pillow and fall asleep. Rain started tapping at the front window just as Sakura was putting on her coat and she felt Kakashi’s eye on her.

“Don’t.” She pulled an umbrella out of her bag.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You thought it.”

“Maybe I did. Can you blame a guy for being nice?” Sakura opened her mouth to speak but Kakashi cut her off. “---Of course _you_ can.”

Sakura stared. Kakashi was smiling, she could tell. Weirdly enough, it didn’t look malicious. In response, Sakura shrugged and smiled back.

She could hear Ino’s voice inside her head, damn her. No, she wasn’t flirting. Who the hell flirts like this?

“My pay?”

“Right here.” Kakashi handed her the envelope. Sakura shoved it inside her purse.

“See you on Monday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay look. I had definitely given up on this but then I saw some relatively recent comments on this which rekindled my love for this story. I started remembering all the ideas I had for this and well, I got sucked back in. 
> 
> This is a pretty uneventful chapter with a little bit of character development which was basically necessary after the shitstorm that was last chapter. Don't worry, I'm a big fan of the slow burn but I get bored of it pretty quickly.
> 
> Didn't proof read this because I just couldn't be bothered, I'm sorry for any mistakes! I hope you're all doing well and that your beginning of 2017 was good. 
> 
> I honestly don't know when I'll post again because classes start back up on Wednesday, but I'll try not to take 2 more years to update it.
> 
> ♥


	9. Chapter 9

“Yes?”

“Open the door, forehead, it’s freezing out here!”

Sakura buzzed Ino in, shaking her head in disbelief. Was this the same woman who wanted to go out after dinner? Hopefully the biting cold would be enough to dissuade her. Especially now that Sakura finally had cable and WiFi back, she really just wanted to stay inside and be lazy. Besides, she was not looking forward to Ino throwing her around to dance with virtually every single man at the club. The two might have spent some time apart, but Sakura knew Ino well enough.

She waited for the blonde at the doorway and smiled when she came into view. And it seemed Ino came prepared, pulling a bottle of wine out of her oversized purse.

“Red wine to pair with the pizza I’m planning to order?”

“Red wine goes well with everything, Sakura. Don’t complain.”

Sakura laughed and shook her head. “I wouldn’t dare.”

The tour of the apartment was short. Underwhelming, even. The two of them then settled on the couch after Sakura fetched them two glasses, and the pinkette grabbed her laptop from the coffee table to order the pizza online.

“Please tell me you have given up on going clubbing.”

“Oh, come on. It’s Saturday night, Sakura!”

“So? I really don’t feel like going out there and freezing my ass off. I’m fond of my ass. I need it to sit.”

“It’s just a little bit of wind!”

“Ino…”

“ _Fine._ I guess we’ll just be two old ladies staying home on a Saturday night.”

“With red wine.”

Ino paused. “I suppose that makes it a little bit better.”

Sakura laughed. She had called Hinata earlier that day and asked if she wanted to come over, but apparently the other already had dinner plans. She stammered and tripped over her words when Sakura asked if those plans had anything to do with the call from the previous day, so Sakura made a mental note to pull more information out of her another time. She told Hinata to have fun, her voice lighthearted. Sakura had to remind herself that not everyone liked being teased.

“Alright, you know what? You always have a million questions for me but you never tell me about yourself,” Sakura observed, putting the laptop aside and grabbing the glass that Ino had filled for her. “So spill it. All of it.”

“Someone’s demanding.” Sakura simply gave Ino a look. The blonde rolled her eyes, well aware that there was no escape. She sat back and cleared her throat. “Alright. When I got out of the home they put me in a tiny apartment near the Oto border. You can imagine that was no fun. I got a job in a grocery store owned by an old couple who were really nice, and they would always insist on driving me home at the end of the day when it was already dark out. I got out of there as soon as I could, though. I wonder how that couple is doing.”

Sakura watched Ino sigh and lean back with a nostalgic smile on her face. Oto was a dangerous village, or at least it was famed for it. During her years in the care home Sakura was afraid they’d send her there, but she got lucky. She waited for Ino, and soon enough the other continued.

“I went to Suna for a while after that, which was… Wild. Had a fling with a guy, a mysterious redhead with a tragic backstory, you know I can’t resist that.” She laughed. “But then this other guy came along, smart and cute but lazy as hell. Dumped the redhead because I had my eye on him, only to find out he was already dating the redhead’s sister.” Ino shrugged and finished her first glass of wine. Sakura arched an eyebrow at her. “Long story short, I ended up coming back to Konoha and staying. I met this artist guy and we were pretty strong for a while, but it stopped working out. We parted ways and I’ve been hitting clubs ever since.”

It didn’t really sit well with Sakura, that last sentence. She didn’t say anything, though. Maybe she was reading too much into it. She sipped on her wine and Ino quickly cleared the heavy air again.

“Have you tried dating girls instead?”

“What?”

“You know, maybe that’s the issue. With the spark thing. Hinata’s cute.”

Sakura laughed and shook her head.  “I guess she is, but I’m really not attracted to her. Or any girl, even.”

“D’you think she is?” Sakura stared. “What? I’ve… Dabbled.”

“You’ve dabbled.”

“Experimented? Does that sound better?”

Sakura laughed again. “I don’t think Hinata’s the type of girl you can take home for a night, Ino.”

“She seemed to be getting loose the other night at the karaoke bar.”

Sakura waved a dismissive hand. “Get over it. I’m pretty sure she’s already got someone else on her radar.”

The pizza arrived and Sakura got up to go get it. She buzzed the delivery guy in and went to grab her purse, making sure to ignore Ino telling her that he sounded cute and Sakura should go for it. Once back on the couch and with two boxes pizza in front of them, Sakura finally addressed her. “You know, my life does not revolve around getting laid. I have other things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“Paying bills.”

“What else?”

Sakura drew a blank. Was her life _that_ boring? She grabbed a slice of pizza and shoved it in her mouth to avoid answering. The whole time she was chewing, Sakura could feel Ino’s eyes on her. “Leave me alone, Ino.”

“You never told me how that night went with your boss.”

“He walked me home and left.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Silence. Sakura felt uncomfortable. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are! Sakura, you tell me everything _right now_.”

So Sakura did. After she refilled her glass with wine, she let out a long sigh and told Ino about Kakashi’s visit the next day. About the tea, the cookies, and the soup. And after some prying on Ino’s part, about the scars and how badly the conversation turned.

“It was all just a plot to get under my skin. He’s been just as insufferable at work.”

“You’re being insufferable.”

“Hey, whose side are you on?”

“The guy cured your hangover and you chased him out of your house.”

“He was prying. I didn’t like it.”

“You pried too!”

Sakura groaned. “I don’t like this topic.”

“I’m just saying, you keep saying bad things about this guy, I haven’t seen him done anything but be nice to you. Which means something’s up.”

“What on earth do you mean?”

“Oh, _please!_ If this was kindergarten you’d be pushing him off the swing.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Yes, it is! You don’t like it that he’s getting to you. You keep acting like it’s you against the world and like nothing’s ever gonna change that. And then this guy comes in, who doesn’t give a shit about that attitude of yours and is actually nice to you in spite of it, and you don’t know what to do about it.”

“Since when are you a shrink?”

“I’m not. I’m a saleswoman. I just know you well enough to know that you like to be in control, and since you’re not, you’re freaking out.”

“I think you’ve had enough wine, Pig.”

“You’re not denying it.”

Sakura ignored it. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and started searching the channels for something good to watch, eventually settling on a random movie. A romantic comedy, of all things. She was about to change the channel again when Ino stole the remote from her, shifting her attention to the movie. At least for that, Sakura was grateful.

In her mind, though, Sakura measured Ino’s words. Not that she would admit to it. Sakura knew she had walls that she would only let certain people climb, that was something she couldn’t deny. Perhaps lately those walls had become more selective towards eligible men with the potential to break her heart or disappoint her with the lack of that damn spark. It left Sakura wondering when the hell she became a romantic.

“The artist guy, why didn’t it work out?”

“We wanted different things,” Ino answered, her mouth full of pizza and her eyes on the TV.

“What kind of different things?”

Ino paused. Sakura didn’t remember the last time she saw the blonde looking serious. “He wanted to travel. Kept saying that he’d been stuck in this place all his life and now that he could, he wanted to go away and see the world. I just… Wanted to finally belong somewhere. To have a home of my own. Grow some roots.”

Sakura stared at Ino for a moment, then sighed and stared back at the TV. After a moment of pretending to watch the movie, Ino’s voice sounded again. “What do _you_ want?”

The pinkette frowned. “I’m not sure.”

 

They wound up falling asleep on the couch without even deciding that Ino would stay over. Well, not officially, at least. Sakura was damn sure that be what would end up happening the second she went to grab a warm blanket for the two of them. Her back cracked in about a dozen different places when Sakura stood up and it was both painful and satisfying. She padded over to the kitchen to get the coffee machine running, then started cleaning up the mess they left on the coffee table the night before.

Her head was pounding a bit but it had nothing to do with the wine. The talk they had last night – before Sakura finally managed to change the subject into more lighthearted things – still lingered on her mind. Kakashi or no Kakashi, Sakura had to admit Ino still knew her too damn well.

So what if Sakura liked being in control? And was it such a terrible thing that she valued her privacy? Sure, she had let her own curiosity get the best of her, but still. Kakashi started it by showing up to her home unannounced. That had to count for something.

“Good morning,” Came Ino’s sleepy voice from the couch, behind Sakura’s back. She jumped and nearly broke the glass she was washing at the sink.

“Fuck’s sake, Ino!”

“Wha--?”

“You scared me half to death!”

Ino stretched her arms above her head and moaned when her spine popped. “I just said good mornin’. Maybe if your mind wasn’t elsewhere…”

Sakura promptly ignored her and stuck a couple slices of bread in her toaster. She definitely wasn’t up to dealing with Ino’s antics before a healthy dose of caffeine, that was for sure. However, Sakura could pretty much feel Ino’s eyes burning into her back and almost hear her smirk.

“My silence doesn’t mean you’re right. It means it’s early and you’re annoying.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You thought it.”

Ino stood up and Sakura could hear her heading towards the fridge and rummaging around for a moment. There wasn’t much to rummage through. “Not my fault you’re predictable. Bet you couldn’t take your mind off of what I said last night. You know why? Because I’m right.”

Sakura scoffed. “You're acting like a freakin' shrink again.”

“I’m not. I’m acting like a friend, which I am,” Ino countered, putting the butter down on the counter with a bit too much force. “You’re stubborn as fuck.”

“You’re one to talk.”

The discussion died down, as per usual. They had breakfast and changed the subject, spent the rest of the morning catching up, and decided to go out for lunch. After that they parted way and promised to do it again sometime. Sakura ended her day in comfortable quiet, even if her brain was hitting the same keys over and over again.

 _Had_ she been unfair?  _Was_ Kakashi getting under her skin?

Shit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello!
> 
> Again, not much direct development. Please remember this is a very Sakura-centric story, so I feel the need to explore her point of view and how her thoughts and feelings develop. I hope it's not dragging too much.
> 
> I have two tests left before the semester ends next week, so I'm not sure I'll be writing much before that. Either way, in the three weeks of break I have after that I'll try to stockpile some chapters if I can to try and post weekly or every two weeks. That's the most I can promise while I'm having classes, second year of college truly is kicking my ass. However, yesterday my English Literature teacher complimented my English and my prose, which really made me want to write some more. Maybe I'll start another chapter today, if I have the time.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you're all having a wonderful start of the year! Thank you so much for reading ♥


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait, what? I updated?  
> Damn right I did.

Sakura’s perfect solution was to not make a big deal out of anything Ino said. Fool proof plan, and it had been working in Sakura’s favor since they were at the care home. Besides, it didn’t really matter at all, did it? Yes, she could perhaps admit to herself to have been harsh. Maybe even unfair. Kakashi did something nice for her – in his own intrusive way – and Sakura didn’t appreciate it. It wasn’t like she was going to do anything about it _now_.

She made the ultimate decision to not think about it while she walked to work, and threw all thoughts about the subject away along with her cigarette. Hinata had already arrived when Sakura walked into the café, and Sakura assumed Kakashi to be somewhere in the back. The girls greeted each other and Hinata asked about Sakura’s weekend, to which Sakura sighed heavily. “Ino can be a lot to handle,” She explained. Hinata nodded solemnly, as if she knew Ino just as well as Sakura did. Considering how transparent the blonde’s behavior can be, Sakura thought that might not be _that_ far from the truth.

“And how about you?” Sakura then asked. “You had plans, too. How did that go?”

Instantly, Hinata turned red as a stop sign. “Um. It went well.”

“Uh huh.” Sakura arched an eyebrow. “That’s all you’re gonna tell me about it? I’m hurt.”

“There’s--- There’s not much to tell. We just… Had dinner.”

“Who’s _we?_ ”

“He’s an old classmate of mine.” Hinata was actually twiddling her thumbs. Incredible – and admittedly adorable.

“And what else is he?”

Just when Sakura thought Hinata couldn’t get any redder, she did. And just when she thought she was about to get some juicy details, Kakashi decided to come out of hiding and interrupt the conversation.

“You’re not wearing your apron, Sakura.”

_Rude._

Sakura shot Kakashi a glare, which he responded to with a smile. “I don’t see what the big deal is. There are no costumers yet, and I don’t imagine they’ll start coming around for another good ten minutes.”

Kakashi looked at his watch. “You’re right.” He turned his eye on Sakura again, once more creasing with a hidden smile. “It’s like this place is your second home already.”

“If it were my second home, I’d _never_ wear the stupid apron.”

“And I’m guessing I wouldn’t be here, either.”

Sakura could almost feel smoke coming out of her ears at that comment. And she was doing so well not thinking about it, of course Kakashi had to go and ruin it. What didn’t he ruin? Sakura rolled her eyes and went to find her apron rather than actually dignifying that with an answer. At least she could have some peace of mind now, knowing that Ino was wrong and Kakashi just truly enjoyed getting under her skin. As far as Sakura also being stubborn about it, she had no further commentary.

 

“I hope I didn’t offend you,” Came Kakashi’s voice behind her while Sakura nibbled on a sandwich at lunch time. After, of course, spending the entire morning avoiding the man. It helped her with her mission not to think about it. “You see, I didn’t know you _could_ get offended.”

“Cute apology.”

“I’m not apologizing.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Sakura forced her gaze away from her phone to look over her shoulder at Kakashi instead. “You’re letting Hinata work alone? For shame. You should help her, wear my apron if you want.”

“Really? You’re gonna pretend like you’re mad about the apron?”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

“I’ve been married, Sakura. That is what you’re doing.”

“Honestly, I take offense to being compared to your ex-wife.”

“So, you _do_ get offended.” At that, Sakura groaned. Kakashi walked the few steps it took to sit next to her at the small, round table. “There’s no one outside. I told her to come get me if she needed anything.”

“I think I hear her.”

“No, you don’t.” Kakashi’s statement was met with silence, then he crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. “Something twisted your panties this weekend. You were nice to me the other day.”

“Can you not talk about my panties? Actually, can you not say that word at all? You’re too old for that, it’s creepy.”

“Point taken.” Kakashi nodded. “Ah, I met with Itachi during the weekend. I was thinking we could all go back to the karaoke bar sometime.”

“You want me to get drunk again.”

“What? Please. You may find it hard to believe, but I do care about your wellbeing.”

As much as Sakura hated to admit it, it checked out. While she could argue that the whole hangover cure debacle had been just a plot to annoy her even further (and in her own home, of all places), Sakura couldn’t find an excuse for him agreeing to pay her in advance when she needed it. Ino’s voice invaded her mind again; maybe Kakashi _was_ just a nice guy.

“Why?” She asked, with a frown creasing her forehead.

“Hm?” Kakashi chuckled at the odd question and shrugged. “Have you lost that much faith in humanity that you don’t think I could just care about you?”

“Maybe.”

“Sad. But it explains a lot.” More silence. Kakashi stood and patted Sakura’s shoulder. “You have five minutes.”

Sakura nodded and finished her sandwich, then spent the little time she had left beating herself up.

_Damnit. Ino was right._

 

It rained heavily for most of the week, but Thursday was truly an exaggeration. Sakura had to wonder what kind of grudge Thor was settling with how aggressive the storm that hit Konoha was. The wind threatened to break through the window, the sky shone and roared with lightning and thunder, the sidewalk was steadily turning into a river of rain water.

Sakura’s umbrella broke on her way to work and she arrived at the coffee shop soaking from head to toe. Hinata hadn’t shown up yet and Kakashi was surely somewhere around the back. She went straight to the service bathroom to maybe try and figure out a way to look presentable, and somehow it didn’t occur to her that Kakashi had decided to do just the same. Sakura barged in through the door without even stopping to notice the light was already on, bumping straight into a bare back. Her brain took a few seconds to kickstart and when it did, _she squeaked_. Sakura seriously needed to stop doing that in front of Kakashi.

“Sorry!” Just as harshly as she had opened the door, Sakura closed it. “I thought you were--- I don’t know, somewhere else, I guess.” Her logic was deeply flawed, but Sakura firmly believed that she couldn’t be blamed for not thinking things through when her feet were this wet.

“It’s fine,” Came the muffled voice from beyond the door. A few seconds of silence went by and then Kakashi walked out, fully clothed and showing Sakura a mask free smile. “All yours.”

After nodding, Sakura walked into the small bathroom and locked the door behind her. She saw a reddened face in the mirror, a wet ponytail that was a complete disaster, and the image of someone who was completely flustered. _Crap._

She spent a few minutes in the bathroom trying to tame her tangled hair into something presentable, though her mind was elsewhere. Kakashi _had_ said that he had scars below the neck, but it had never crossed Sakura’s mind that she would eventually see them. She hadn’t had the time to pay as much attention to them as she had to the ones on his face, but she could distinctly remember the marks on his left shoulder and extending to his arm. Scraping. Sakura shuddered and it had nothing to do with her cold feet; she couldn’t begin to imagine just how nasty that accident had been.

Just before leaving the bathroom, Sakura remembered that she saw sparse freckles littering Kakashi’s back and broad shoulders. Useless information, she told herself. She would forget about it in less than a minute.

(Why she hadn’t forgotten about it yet was honestly a mystery to her.)

 

“Hinata called,” Kakashi told her once Sakura emerged from the back, trying her offensive apron. “She’s got a fever and can’t make it today.”

_Wait, what?_

“I told her it’s not really a big deal. I don’t think people are crazy enough to come out for coffee in this weather.” Kakashi sighed and leaned against the counter with a smile. “Looks like it’s just you and I, Sakura.”

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I broke my consistency promise... I think we all saw it coming, honestly. I had started this chapter already but then lost the muse for it, got distracted by other things, life got in the way. The usual.
> 
> And as always, tonight I had the random urge to write on this. So here it is.
> 
> I hope it's not too inconsistent, story wise! When I'm on a roll I start making plans for the story, but then I never write them down and forget them completely. This is what my brain decided to go with, so there we have it. At least I sprinkled in a lil bit of development between them to make up for the mess that I am! 
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, and it truly does motivate me! So if you like this, it would really mean a lot if you took 30 seconds of your day to let me know ♥
> 
> PS: It's 4am and this is not proofread. Please kindly point out any mistakes so I can fix them.


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